Teukoe Hoesin was the oelèëbalang — self-governing ruler — of the landschap Simpang Oelim on the East Coast of Atjèh, who, together with a pair of Japanese in Medan, operated one of the sawmills in the residency, and whose initial suspicion of pro-Japanese sympathies — derived from his sawmill partnership with the Japanese — was, in the event, displaced by his loyalty to the Dutch administration. Piekaar’s Atjèh and the War with Japan treats Teukoe Hoesin as an illustrative case of the complexity of the pre-war Japanese commercial presence in Atjèh and of the political loyalty of the oelèëbalang’s who had been drawn into commercial relationships with Japanese firms.
The sawmill partnership
Piekaar records that “of the aforementioned sawmills, one was operated for joint account by Teukoe Hoesin, the self-governing ruler of Simpang Oelim and a pair of Japanese in Medan.” The sawmill — a commercial enterprise operated for joint account — was one of several Japanese commercial interests in Atjèh that, in the pre-war period, gave the Japanese a foothold in the residency’s economy. The partnership between the oelèëbalang of Simpang Oelim and the Japanese in Medan reflected the intersection of traditional Atjèhnese authority with modern commercial enterprise: the oelèëbalang provided the local knowledge and the access to timber, the Japanese provided the capital and the technical expertise.
The dissolution of the partnership
After the outbreak of the war with Germany — that is, after September 1939 — “Teukoe Hoesin, at the insistence of the administration, dissolved this combination.” The dissolution — the breaking off of the commercial partnership with the Japanese — was, in Piekaar’s account, a measure imposed by the Dutch administration on the oelèëbalang’s who had been in commercial relationships with Japanese firms. The legal dissolution of the partnership, however, “had not yet been effected upon the departure of the Japanese, in connection with the ever-approaching threat of war.” The incomplete legal dissolution — the unfinished business of the partnership’s formal unwinding — reflected the pressure of the approaching war.
The question of pro-Japanese sympathies
Teukoe Hoesin, Piekaar records, “was initially suspected of pro-Japanese sympathies.” The suspicion — derived from his sawmill partnership with the Japanese — was a natural inference from the commercial relationship: an oelèëbalang who had been in business with the Japanese might, it was feared, be inclined to support them in the event of an invasion. The suspicion would, however, prove to be misplaced. The loyalty of Teukoe Hoesin to the Dutch administration — like that of Teukoe Bin of Seunagan and Teukoe Tjhi’ Moehamad Ali Akbar on the West Coast — was, in the event, one of the assets the Dutch lost in March 1942.
See Also
- [Simpang Oelim]
- [Oelèëbalang]
- [1939]
- [1942]
Source
Atjèh and the War with Japan, by Dr. A. J. Piekaar, translated from the Dutch original Atjèh en de oorlog met Japan (1949) (‘s-Gravenhage/Bandung: N.V. Uitgeverij W. van Hoeve; English edition), Chapter I, § 4.
Teukoe Hoesin was the oelèëbalang — self-governing ruler — of the landschap Simpang Oelim on the East Coast of Atjèh, who, together with a pair of Japanese in Medan, operated one of the sawmills in the residency, and whose initial suspicion of pro-Japanese sympathies — derived from his sawmill partnership with the Japanese — was, in the event, displaced by his loyalty to the Dutch administration. Piekaar’s Atjèh and the War with Japan treats Teukoe Hoesin as an illustrative case of the complexity of the pre-war Japanese commercial presence in Atjèh and of the political loyalty of the oelèëbalang’s who had been drawn into commercial relationships with Japanese firms.
The sawmill partnership
Piekaar records that “of the aforementioned sawmills, one was operated for joint account by Teukoe Hoesin, the self-governing ruler of Simpang Oelim and a pair of Japanese in Medan.” The sawmill — a commercial enterprise operated for joint account — was one of several Japanese commercial interests in Atjèh that, in the pre-war period, gave the Japanese a foothold in the residency’s economy. The partnership between the oelèëbalang of Simpang Oelim and the Japanese in Medan reflected the intersection of traditional Atjèhnese authority with modern commercial enterprise: the oelèëbalang provided the local knowledge and the access to timber, the Japanese provided the capital and the technical expertise.
The dissolution of the partnership
After the outbreak of the war with Germany — that is, after September 1939 — “Teukoe Hoesin, at the insistence of the administration, dissolved this combination.” The dissolution — the breaking off of the commercial partnership with the Japanese — was, in Piekaar’s account, a measure imposed by the Dutch administration on the oelèëbalang’s who had been in commercial relationships with Japanese firms. The legal dissolution of the partnership, however, “had not yet been effected upon the departure of the Japanese, in connection with the ever-approaching threat of war.” The incomplete legal dissolution — the unfinished business of the partnership’s formal unwinding — reflected the pressure of the approaching war.
The question of pro-Japanese sympathies
Teukoe Hoesin, Piekaar records, “was initially suspected of pro-Japanese sympathies.” The suspicion — derived from his sawmill partnership with the Japanese — was a natural inference from the commercial relationship: an oelèëbalang who had been in business with the Japanese might, it was feared, be inclined to support them in the event of an invasion. The suspicion would, however, prove to be misplaced. The loyalty of Teukoe Hoesin to the Dutch administration — like that of Teukoe Bin of Seunagan and Teukoe Tjhi’ Moehamad Ali Akbar on the West Coast — was, in the event, one of the assets the Dutch lost in March 1942.
See Also
- [Simpang Oelim]
- [Oelèëbalang]
- [1939]
- [1942]
Source
Atjèh and the War with Japan, by Dr. A. J. Piekaar, translated from the Dutch original Atjèh en de oorlog met Japan (1949) (‘s-Gravenhage/Bandung: N.V. Uitgeverij W. van Hoeve; English edition), Chapter I, § 4.